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HISTORY 239G:The Algerian Wars (CSRE 249, FRENCH 249)

This course offers to study the Algerian Wars since the French conquest of Algeria (1830-1847) to the Algerian civil war of the 1990s. We will revisit the ways in which the wars have been narrated in historical and political discourse, and in literature. A special focus will be given to the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). The course considers the continuing legacies surrounding this traumatic conflict in France and Algeria and the delicate re-negotiation of the French nation-state that resulted. A key focus will be on the transmission of collective memory through transnational lenses. We will examine how the French and Algerian states, but also civil societies (Pieds-Noirs, Arabs, Kabyles, Jews, veterans, Harkis, "suitcase carriers") have instrumentalized the memories of the war for various ends, through analyses of commemorative events and monuments. Readings from Alexis de Tocqueville, Albert Camus, Frantz Fanon, Mouloud Feraoun, Rachid Mimouni, Wassyla Tamzali, Germaine Tillion, Pierre Nora, Benjamin Stora, Todd Shepard, Sarah Stein, Pierre Vidal-Naquet, James Lesueur. Movies include "The Battle of Algiers," "Indigènes," and "Viva Laldjérie." Taught in French.

HISTORY 239K:Revolutionary Moments in French Thought (FRENCH 128)

French intellectual and political culture has often been associated with revolutionary attempts to break free from the hold of tradition. Indeed, the concept of "revolution" has itself become a French tradition of sorts. Over the last 500 years, these revolutions have taken place in a number of arenas. In philosophy, René Descartes challenged all traditional learning and defined new principles that were central to the so-called ¿Revolution of the Mind.¿ In religion, Enlightenment thinkers not only advocated the toleration of different faiths but also questioned the veracity of Christianity and of all theistic worldviews. In politics, the French Revolution redefined the very concept of a political revolution and set the stage for modern conceptions of sovereignty. French socialist thinkers of the 19th century, in turn, reshaped the ways their contemporaries thought about socio-economic arrangements. Finally, 20th-century existentialists have attempted to rethink the very purpose of human existence. In this course, we will explore these and other seminal revolutionary moments that not only transformed French society, but that also had implications for European and, indeed, global culture. Taught in English, readings in English.

Last offered: Autumn 2014
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

HISTORY 244:Egyptomania! The Allure of Ancient Egypt Over the Past 3,500 Years (AFRICAAM 87, CLASSICS 87)

Why does Egypt fascinate us? From Napoleon's invasion to Katy Perry's latest music video, we have interpreted ancient Egyptian history and mythology for centuries; in fact, this obsession dates back to the Egyptians themselves. This seminar explores Egyptomania from the Pharaonic period to the 20th century. Topics include: ancient Egypt, Greek historians, medieval Arabic scholars, hieroglyphic decipherment, 19th century travel, 20th century pop culture, and how historians have interpreted this past over the centuries.

HISTORY 254:Popular Culture and American Nature

Despite John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson, it is arguable that the Disney studios have more to do with molding popular attitudes toward the natural world than politicians, ecologists, and activists. Disney as the central figure in the 20th-century American creation of nature. How Disney, the products of his studio, and other primary and secondary texts see environmentalism, science, popular culture, and their interrelationships.

HUMBIO 162H:Hysteria and Modern Culture (TAPS 169)

The term "hysteria" has been used for centuries to categorize the mysterious ailments of others. This course will focus on the history of hysteria's representation and production from the late nineteenth century through WWI. Readings will include medical writings (Charcot, Bernheim, Freud), plays (Ibsen, Strindberg, Toller), and feminist theory (Cixous, Clément, Diamond). We will also devote some attention to the ongoing influence of the discourse of hysteria on contemporary medical and popular cultures.

Last offered: Winter 2015
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

HUMBIO 162L:Psychosis and Literature (ANTHRO 82P, PSYC 82, PSYC 282)

One of the great gifts of literature is its ability to give us insight into the internal worlds of others. This is particularly true of that state clinicians call "psychosis." But psychosis is a complex concept. It can be terrifying and devastating for patients and families, and yet shares characteristics with other, less pathological states, such as mysticism and creativity. How then can we begin to make sense of it? In this course, we will examine the first-hand experience of psychosis. We will approach it from multiple perspectives, including clinical descriptions, works of art, and texts by writers ranging from Shakespeare, to the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, to patients attempting to describe their experience. This class is not only for students thinking of careers in medicine, psychology or anthropology, but also readers and writers interested exploring extraordinary texts. There are no prerequisites necessary; all that is needed is a love of language and a curiosity about the secrets of other minds.

HUMBIO 167:The Art of Vision

This course is about eyes and art. We explore how eyes are built, how they process visual information, and how they are affected by disease. And we explore how fine art and famous artists (from all eras, ancient to modern) have depended upon vision, both normal and abnormal. There are short diversions into animal eyes and the role of vision in music, literature, and sports. Prerequisite:
HumBio 4A or
BIO 42 or consent of Instructor.

This course introduces students to the ways literature has been used to think through the ethics of human subjects research and experimental medicine. We will focus primarily on readings that imaginatively revisit experiments conducted on vulnerable populations: namely groups placed at risk by their classification according to perceived human and cultural differences. We will begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), and continue our study via later works of fiction, drama and literary journalism, including Toni Morrison's Beloved, David Feldshuh's Miss Evers Boys, Hannah Arendt's Eichmann and Vivien Spitz's Doctors from Hell, Rebecca Skloot's Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. Each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical and policy writings of the period; and our ultimate goal will be to understand modes of ethics deliberation that are possible via creative uses of the imagination, and literature's place in a history of ethical thinking about humane research and care.

This course examines the ways writers in literature and medicine have used the narrative form to explore the ethics of care in what has been called the developing world. We will begin with a call made by the editor-in-chief of The Lancet for a literature of global health, namely fiction modeled on the social reform novels of the nineteenth century, understood to have helped readers develop a conscience for public health as the field emerged as a modern medical specialty. We will then spend the quarter understanding how colonial, postcolonial, and world literatures have answered and complicated this call. Readings will include prose fiction by Albert Camus, Joseph Conrad, Tsitsi Dangaremgba, Amitav Ghosh, Susan Sontag as well as physician memoirs featuring Frantz Fanon, Albert Schweitzer, Abraham Verghese, Paul Farmer. And each literary reading will be paired with medical, philosophical, and policy writings that deeply inform the field of global health.